Prospect New Orleans Postpones Prospect.5, Pushed Back One Year, Contemporary Art Triennial Will Open October 2021
THIS MORNING, Prospect New Orleans announced that Prospect.5 has been postponed by one year. The forthcoming citywide contemporary art triennial was scheduled to open this fall and, due to the COVID-19 virus, it has been delayed by one year. The new dates are Oct. 23, 2021-Jan. 23, 2022. Prospect.5 is the latest major art...
New York Photographer Dannielle Bowman Wins 2020 Aperture Portfolio Prize
THE WINNER of the 2020 Aperture Portfolio Prize is Dannielle Bowman. Aperture’s annual international competition aims to “identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition.” Recent bodies of work, made in the past five year and not previously published or displayed prominently are considered. The goal is to discover new...
In Wake of COVID-19, Artists are Uniting to Support the Museum of the African Diaspora San Francisco With an Online Benefit Auction
AN IMPORTANT PLATFORM for artists of African descent, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco is facing a funding shortfall and possible interruption of operations in the wake of the COVID-19 virus. To help raise funds, the museum is launching its first-ever benefit auction with Artsy. Artists, galleries, and collectors from...
Roberts Projects Announced Representation of Wangari Mathenge, Whose Paintings Foreground Experiences of Black Women
THE WOMEN confidently claim space on sofas, gazing directly at the viewer, holding our attention. The women, reclining and sitting, embrace their culture and express their style through the vibrant colors and patterned fabrics of their clothing, head scarves and throw pillows. The women, by turns introspective, skeptical, and assertive, are the subjects of...
Exploring the Subjectivity of Black Children, Works by Deborah Roberts Have Recently Been Acquired by Museums in Boston, San Francisco, and Scotland
STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY in London recently announced 10 institutional acquisitions that occurred over the past year. Works by six artists on its roster, including Deborah Roberts, Yinka Shonibare CBE, and Denzil Forrester, have been acquired by museums around the world. “Adam and Eve” (2013) and “The British Library” (2014), installations by Shonibare, were added...
Blum & Poe Now Represents Japanese-Brazilian Artist Asuka Anastacia Ogawa
“Medicine girl” (2019) by Asuka Anastacia Ogawa AFTER HAVING HER FIRST U.S. solo exhibition at Henry Taylor’s studio in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2017, Asuka Anastacia Ogawa is now on the roster at his longtime gallery. Blum & Poe announced its representation of Ogawa on April 1. The gallery expects to present her...
Top African American Scholars and Arts Leaders Appointed to New Advisory Council for Johnson Publishing Archive
A CONSORTIUM OF NONPROFITS purchased the Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 million last July. The goal was to safeguard the unparalleled collection for the public benefit. Now a significant next step in the process has been announced. The co-owners have established an advisory council to evaluate and interpret the collection and provide guidance about...
Black-Run Art Spaces Cancel Programming and Announce Closures as Institutions Nationwide Respond to COVID-19
The exhibition galleries at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles remain open to visitors, but public programs are postponed until further notice. CITING SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES from the California Department of Public Health designed “to slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19,” the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles cancelled...
Mississippi Museum of Art Names Ryan N. Dennis Chief Curator and Artistic Director
THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART (MMA) in Jackson, Miss., announced two new curatorial appointments this week. Following a national search, the museum named Ryan N. Dennis, chief curator and artistic director of the Center for Art & Public Exchange (CAPE), and Holly R. Harrison, deputy director for art and programs. Dennis will lead the museum’s...
Marian Goodman Gallery Announced its Representation Tavares Strachan, Whose Practice Activates Art, Science, and Politics
Tavares Strachan at 58th Venice Biennale (2019) MULTIMEDIA ARTIST Tavares Strachan has joined Marian Goodman Gallery, the New York-based gallery with locations in Paris and London. Strachan’s artistic practice explores the intersections of art, science, and politics. He works across disciplines to surface unknown histories and investigate the nature of invisibility—why certain histories and...
Steven Nelson Appointed Dean of Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at National Gallery of Art
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART in Washington, D.C., announced UCLA art historian Steven Nelson has been selected as the next dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). Founded in 1979, CASVA is the museum’s research institute. Currently serving as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor at CASVA (2018–2020), Nelson is on...
Library of Congress Acquires 100,000+ Images From Shawn Walker, First Comprehensive Archive of African American Photographer to Enter Public Collection
SHAWN WALKER, “Neighbor at 124 W 117th St, Harlem, New York,” circa 1970-1979. | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division HARLEM IS BOTH HOME AND SUBJECT for photographer Shawn Walker. For more than 50 years, he has been documenting the storied neighborhood. He was born there, lives and works there, and throughout his...
Artist List for Prospect New Orleans Triennial Includes Mark Bradford, Willie Birch, Simone Leigh, Dawoud Bey, Glenn Ligon, Karon Davis, Naudline Pierre, and Kevin Beasley
Still from single-channel video by Tiona Nekkia McClodden THE ARTIST LIST for Prospect New Orleans was officially announced today. Invited artists for the 2020 triennial include Los Angeles-based Mark Bradford, who participated in the first Prospect New Orleans more than a decade ago and is contributing a major new site-specific work; the late Georgia-born...
93-Year Old Artist Betye Saar to CBS News: ‘The Creative Part of Me is Forever Young’
A CBS SUNDAY MORNING profile of assemblage artist Betye Saar aired Feb. 23. The segment opens with red carpet footage of the Art + Film Gala held last November at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Honored that evening, Saar walks the red carpet in a black beaded gown by Gucci (one...
2,500+ Artists Sign Open Letter Endorsing Bernie Sanders for President, Group Includes Kara Walker, Kevin Beasley, and Aria Dean
A SIZABLE GROUP OF ARTISTS has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for President of the United States, issuing an open letter of support outlining the reasons why they think the he is the best candidate in the Democratic field. More than 2,500 artists have endorsed the online letter, including Kader Attia, Kevin Beasley, Nicole...
Dallas Museum of Art Names Vivian Crockett Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art
THE DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART (DMA) has been shoring up its curatorial department over the past year. The latest addition is Vivian Crockett, who is joining the museum as assistant curator of contemporary art. Crockett brings expertise in art of the African and Latinx diasporas and the Americas. She is currently a Joan Tisch Teaching...
